Have scientists found Atlantis?

(RAW STORY) A U.S.-led research team may have finally located the lost city of Atlantis, the legendary metropolis believed swamped by a tsunami thousands of years ago in mud flats in southern Spain.

“This is the power of tsunamis,” head researcher Richard Freund told Reuters.

“It is just so hard to understand that it can wipe out 60 miles inland, and that’s pretty much what we’re talking about,” said Freund, a University of Hartford, Connecticut, professor who lead an international team searching for the true site of Atlantis.

To solve the age-old mystery, the team used a satellite photo of a suspected submerged city to find the site just north of Cadiz, Spain. There, buried in the vast marshlands of the Dona Ana Park, they believe that they pinpointed the ancient, multi-ringed dominion known as Atlantis.

The team of archeologists and geologists in 2009 and 2010 used a combination of deep-ground radar, digital mapping, and underwater technology to survey the site.

Freund’s discovery in central Spain of a strange series of “memorial cities,” built in Atlantis’ image by its refugees after the city’s likely destruction by a tsunami, gave researchers added proof and confidence, he said.

Atlantis residents who did not perish in the tsunami fled inland and built new cities there, he added.

The team’s findings will be unveiled on Sunday in “Finding Atlantis,” a new National Geographic Channel special.

While it is hard to know with certainty that the site in Spain in Atlantis, Freund said the “twist” of finding the memorial cities makes him confident Atlantis was buried in the mud flats on Spain’s southern coast.

“We found something that no one else has ever seen before, which gives it a layer of credibility, especially for archeology, that makes a lot more sense,” Freund said.

Greek philosopher Plato wrote about Atlantis some 2,600 years ago, describing it as “an island situated in front of the straits which are by you called the Pillars of Hercules,” as the Straits of Gibraltar were known in antiquity. Using Plato’s detailed account of Atlantis as a map, searches have focused on the Mediterranean and Atlantic as the best possible sites for the city.

Tsunamis in the region have been documented for centuries, Freund says. One of the largest was a reported 10-story tidal wave that slammed Lisbon in November, 1755.

Debate about whether Atlantis truly existed has lasted for thousands of years. Plato’s “dialogues” from around 360 B.C. are the only known historical sources of information about the iconic city. Plato said the island he called Atlantis “in a single day and night… disappeared into the depths of the sea.”

Experts plan further excavations are planned at the site where they believe Atlantis is located and at the mysterious “cities” in central Spain 150 miles away to more closely study geological formations and to date artifacts.

(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Greg McCune)

mochila insert follows

Lost city of Atlantis, swamped by tsunami, may be found

Zach Howard
Reuters US Online Report Top News

Mar 12, 2011 11:36 EST

NORTHAMPTON, Mass (Reuters) – A U.S.-led research team may have finally located the lost city of Atlantis, the legendary metropolis believed swamped by a tsunami thousands of years ago in mud flats in southern Spain.

“This is the power of tsunamis,” head researcher Richard Freund told Reuters.

“It is just so hard to understand that it can wipe out 60 miles inland, and that’s pretty much what we’re talking about,” said Freund, a University of Hartford, Connecticut, professor who lead an international team searching for the true site of Atlantis.

To solve the age-old mystery, the team used a satellite photo of a suspected submerged city to find the site just north ofCadiz, Spain. There, buried in the vast marshlands of the Dona Ana Park, they believe that they pinpointed the ancient, multi-ringed dominion known as Atlantis.

The team of archeologists and geologists in 2009 and 2010 used a combination of deep-ground radar, digital mapping, and underwater technology to survey the site.

Freund’s discovery in central Spain of a strange series of “memorial cities,” built in Atlantis’ image by its refugees after the city’s likely destruction by a tsunami, gave researchers added proof and confidence, he said.

Atlantis residents who did not perish in the tsunami fled inland and built new cities there, he added.

The team’s findings will be unveiled on Sunday in “Finding Atlantis,” a new National Geographic Channel special.

While it is hard to know with certainty that the site in Spain in Atlantis, Freund said the “twist” of finding the memorial cities makes him confident Atlantis was buried in the mud flats on Spain’s southern coast.

“We found something that no one else has ever seen before, which gives it a layer of credibility, especially for archeology, that makes a lot more sense,” Freund said.

Greek philosopher Plato wrote about Atlantis some 2,600 years ago, describing it as “an island situated in front of the straits which are by you called the Pillars of Hercules,” as the Straits of Gibraltar were known in antiquity. Using Plato’s detailed account of Atlantis as a map, searches have focused on the Mediterranean and Atlantic as the best possible sites for the city.

Tsunamis in the region have been documented for centuries, Freund says. One of the largest was a reported 10-story tidal wave that slammed Lisbon in November, 1755.

Debate about whether Atlantis truly existed has lasted for thousands of years. Plato’s “dialogues” from around 360 B.C. are the only known historical sources of information about the iconic city. Plato said the island he called Atlantis “in a single day and night… disappeared into the depths of the sea.”

Experts plan further excavations are planned at the site where they believe Atlantis is located and at the mysterious “cities” in central Spain 150 miles away to more closely study geological formations and to date artifacts.

One Response to Have scientists found Atlantis?

The underground site, does appear to have many of Plato’s physical descriptions of what Atlantis was like. What is most revealing is an inscription found on a large stone surface that does bear the symbol of the Lost Continent. This symbol is on my book’s cover; which can be accessed at http://bookofatlantis.com Needless to say, I was both shocked and excited to see this symbol actualized by contemporary archeology.

The problem is that this site is far too late to be Atlantis. It’s carbon dated to have been built between 6,000 and 5,000 BCE. Which is well over 3,000 years after Atlantis sank into the Sea. This according to Plato’s reference dates given to him by Solon; who in turn received this information from Egyptian priests. These Priests revealed that Atlantis existed over 10,000 years before Solon’s time.

There are reference points that suggest this site is more likely connected to the “Sea People” made reference to in Egyptian, Greek and Biblical historical texts, as well as by Plato himself. The people who are reputed, by Plato, to have defeated Atlantean forces in a great Sea Battle and established many colonies throughout the Mediterranean. Plato even alluded to these people originally having settled Athens. Some writers even suggest the very first Troy was founded by them as well.

This current site, therefore, can hardly be the original Atlantis. It is more probably a clone, facsimile or imitation of what was thought among many ancient people to be the design of the legendary Atlantean Capital City of Atalan. This would be something that was quite common in the ancient world. Every ancient civilization of note attempted to copy the culture and architecture of Atlantis just as we still copy much from the Romans of 2000 years ago.

The Spanish site does appear to resemble the three concentric rings described by Plato, but so do several other potential “Atlantis” sites located around other volcanic origins. i.e. Santorini. What is most impressive about this particular discovery at Donana is the very tangible evidence of what was known to be the actual symbol of Atlantis. The three concentric rings with a line in the center. This symbol was found carved upon a large stone surface… a marking stone. The style of the human figure on it looks much like the human figures in the cave paintings found in Southern France, which are not far from this location. This may indicate a possible stylistic and/or cultural relationship. I suggest, this stone marker actually establishes archeological credence for the very existence of Atlantis. That it definitely was created as a reference to the Lost Continent.

I also suggest everyone has been looking in all the wrong places. Atlantis was in the Atlantic Ocean near what is now referred to as the Sargasso Sea. 500 miles east of Bermuda and 100 miles south.

I believe that Donana is the first great discovery link that will finally lead to Atlantis’ true location. Established archeology will be forced to rethink its long time, negative, stance on Atlantis. This will be especially true after a number of currently underway excavations, such a Donana, begin to reveal more examples of a unique symbolic connection, some of which are soon to be found everywhere from Spain to India, as well as from around Bimini, Cuba and Bermuda. I predict that even more startling discoveries are to come from Turkey, Egypt, Southern Iran and even Peru.

Eventually all the pieces will start to come together and a picture of the true Atlantis will finally emerge. If you wish to save much time and energy, you might choose to check out my own Atlantean revelations in Atlantis: A Karmic Memory of the Rise & Fall available at http://bookofatlantis.com. Then you may decide for yourself, where the true location of Atlantis is.